Lev Vygotsky’s concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is a central element in his socio-cultural theory of cognitive development. Introduced in the early 20th century, Vygotsky’s Zone concept challenges traditional measures of intelligence and learning, emphasizing the potential for cognitive development through social interaction. The ZPD refers to […]
Positive psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on the study of positive aspects of human life, such as happiness, well-being, and fulfillment. Introduced by Martin Seligman in the late 1990s, it marks a shift away from traditional psychology’s emphasis on mental illness, dysfunction, and negative aspects of human […]
Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach to psychology that seeks to explain mental and psychological traits—such as memory, perception, or language—as adaptations, i.e., as the functional products of natural selection. The theory posits that just as physical traits have evolved to help organisms survive and reproduce, so too have psychological […]
The Cognitive Revolution in psychology marks a significant shift in the focus of psychological research and theory from the behaviourist emphasis on observable behaviour to an interest in the internal mental processes that underlie human cognition. Emerging in the mid-20th century, around the 1950s and 1960s, this revolution was fuelled […]
Psychoanalysis is a theoretical framework and therapeutic approach developed by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It posits that unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories significantly influence an individual’s behaviour and personality. According to Freud, these unconscious elements are often rooted in childhood experiences and repressed conflicts, […]
John B. Watson’s behaviourism, introduced in the early 20th century, revolutionized the field of psychology by shifting the focus from the introspection of mental states to the observable behaviours of individuals. Watson, often recognized as the father of behaviourism, argued that psychology should be a natural science, objective and experimental, […]
Wilhelm Wundt’s introspection method marks a cornerstone in the history of psychology, laying the foundation for experimental psychology as a science. Introspection, which literally means “looking within,” was used by Wundt to explore the inner workings of the human mind. Wundt, often considered the “father of experimental psychology,” established the […]
